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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

Positive Messages

Teens wrestle with the complications of relationships, longing for meaningful friendships but being inhibited by social castes and their classmates' preconceptions. Issues such as stereotyping, popularity, bullying, and peer pressure are raised in a thought-provoking manner. Some teens use sexuality to get what they want, whether it's a peer's attention or the adoration of the opposite sex. Others manipulate in different ways. A character's uncertain sexual identification is a frequent topic of discussion. The overriding message is that friendship is a rewarding experience that can bridge most personality differences.

Positive Role Models & Representations

A mixed bag. Some characters, such as Kodaka, have the best intentions at heart and are looking for meaningful connections with peers. Others, such as Yozora and Sena, are controlling and manipulative at times, which threatens their relationships. A younger character's obsession with a TV show inspires her to adopt the pseudo-ego of a vampire.

Violence

Fistfights, but no blood.

Sex

Bedroom noises (gasps, moans, panting, and, "It's coming! I'm going to lose my mind!") from an online game in which a man visibly kisses a woman's breasts and other sex acts are implied. Teen girls are shown naked, with full side views of their butts and breasts and only nipples and groin areas obscured. Teens talk about breast size, calling them "knockers" and "rack." Girls are shown in provocative positions -- on their hands and knees and shaking their butts, reclining with their legs splayed, and pressing their breasts into view. Lots of innuendo and euphemisms. Girls' outfits draw eyes to the chest and groin areas, which often get close-ups.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that even though Haganai is an anime that centers on high school students, its sexually explicit content and strong language render it inappropriate for most teens. Characters play Internet games that allow them to role-play bedroom scenes, and you'll hear moaning, panting, and remarks such as, "It's coming! I'm going to lose my mind!" Girls wear revealing clothing (swimsuits barely cover nipples and groin areas, and skirts hardly obscure butts) and act provocatively, shaking their butts and breasts at each other. Teens also use sexuality to manipulate others, either as a temptation or to insult a peer's appearance. Language is another concern, with "bitch," "ass," "damn," "hell," and "pissed" being common fare. Even though they're overshadowed by such mature content, the show's messages about teen relationships are mostly positive and strongly caution against judging people on appearance or passing on friendship with someone who's different from you.

What's the story?

A recent transfer student to St. Chronica's Academy, Kodaka (voiced by Jerry Jewell) has had trouble making friends because of a poor first impression, but a chance encounter with loner Yozora (Whitney Rodgers) shows him he's not alone in craving connections with peers. The two decide to start the Neighbors Club, a group for people struggling to find meaningful friendships in traditional niches at school. Their first member is Sena (Jad Saxton), the school's popularity queen, who claims to want something more than the constant adoration of her following of boys, but her contentious dealings with Yozora immediately cast doubt on the club's viability. As other students join, including Kodaka's younger sister, Kobato (Alison Viktorin), Kodaka and Yozora learn that friendship isn't always easy.

Is it any good?

HAGANAI takes a surprisingly insightful stance on the complications of teen relationships, and many of its messages about self-esteem and individuality are things you'd want your own teen to hear. The stories illustrate the dangers of judging someone by his appearance, for instance, and express the sense of despair teens feel when they're socially isolated. What's more, Kodaka's and Yozora's willingness to remedy this void in their lives by reaching out to their peers shows courage not many teens could muster in a similar situation. And even though they're rife with stress, the fact that friendships are forged across status lines suggests underlying similarities among the disparate teens.

So it's a real head-scratcher as to why Haganai intentionally puts itself and its positive messages out of reach for many teens by incorporating such racy, red-letter content among its high school-age characters. What with the full-figure nudity (minus views of the groin and frontal shots of breasts) and persistent suggestions of sexuality, Haganai is mature fare, and its likable messages are mostly lost on those who are on the other side of their teen years.

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